wrapping up...

Well, I've gone through the regular list of things-I-do-when-I-should-be-doing-something-else, and I've done them all, so that leaves blogging.

One day of classes left on Monday, then I'm giving my exams on Wednesday, then it's graduation and grading and stuff. So, things are winding down.

I'm looking forward to June. I get a nice month-long period when I'm OFF school and the kids are still IN school and I can get some real work done if I make a point to work a little every day. As much as I'd like to do a sort of pre-sabbatical roundup of my book projects, I think the focus is going to have to be on my Fall courses. I'm teaching 3 classes - one of which is brand new, one of which I've only taught once and plan to make a lot of changes to, and one I've taught a million times and am bored with and would like to shake up but probably won't have the time.

Because of all the new stuff, I plan to spend a big chunk of summer planning INTENSIVELY for the fall. I want to get one course set up with a day-by-day syllabus and reading guide with in-class discussion questions already written up, so that ENTIRE COURSE is planned down to the MINUTE on September 1st. That involves reading 3 books and writing up my notes on all of them over the summer. So far the syllabus/reading guide is 60 pages. And that's just for the ONE course.

I have a meeting tomorrow concerning the other new course, which is a Freshman-only "advising course". This means that besides being a physics course, I will also be their academic advisor and responsible (in part) for sort of teaching them how to be in college. Which should be easy for me, since I still kind of live like I'm in college myself. I also get a upperclass student assistant, and I think it's going to be the guy I call my "Sweathog"... a groupie of mine with a Jewfro who rides a skateboard to class and calls me "Doc". Should be a fun semester. IF I can prepare myself better than I did THIS semester.

So. Goals. Yay for that.